Chicago Clout "Prayers for Mayor Daley 2" with Archie High video

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Brother Archie, are you HIGH? come on Brother, He DALEY is the DeVIL in a suit. come on I want you to look into his eyes Archie! I mean take a good look, and tell me you see a good spirit in there? He is the DEVIL !! Look into his eyes as I have seen !! I have seen the Devil in his eyes, uiehgfioijfiowej holy jesus, it's upon you oh great one to show Archie the way to Daleys heart, Daley does have the devil in him, Archie can you do an excersism? oh GOD please help us oh LORD, bring your spirits to Archis so Archie can see that MR. DALEY has the evil spirit in him. Archie cover your heart, I have seen these evil spirits, these are some mean Spirits in there.
In GOD I bring the message to MR. Archie High, In GODS everlasting peace Brother Archie, may you see the truth, I pray and ask GOD to look over you. Amen.

Mayor Richard Daley's administration has made progress in cleaning up its scandal-plagued hiring system, but obstacles remain and significant hiring abuses still occur, a court-appointed monitor said Thursday.

The report by Noelle Brennan, who has monitored city hiring since August 2005, cited several areas of particular concern that need to be immediately investigated and fixed.

Brennan said 290 city contractors were hired on as city employees in violation of federal court rules and that the city clerk's office this year hired nine "connected" summer interns who were relatives of city workers -- including relatives of three clerk's office employees.

Kristine Williams, a clerk's office spokeswoman, said the mayor's Office of Compliance advised that family members of city employees could be hired as interns if they were not directly supervised by their relative.

Brennan also found evidence that a handful of politically connected truck drivers in the Department of Streets and Sanitation received "disproportionate amounts" of overtime in 2008, getting anywhere from $22,500 to $27,500 in extra pay, while other truckers got little or none.

Brennan criticized the city for often describing hiring violations as errors and mistakes for which there was "no evidence of political influence."

Brennan's report is her periodic assessment of how well the Daley administration is complying with court-ordered reforms to end a culture of political patronage that led to the criminal convictions of Daley aides.

The report comes days after the July 7 resignation of Daley's former personnel chief, who has denied allegations that he lied during a recent hiring investigation. Brennan's report noted that the city had made strides toward compliance as it works to get out of court oversight. She praised the Daley-created Office of Compliance, which would take on the monitor's role once oversight ends.

Daley lays off more than 400 city workers after deadline passes
Posted by Dan P. Blake at 12:45 p.m.; last updated at 5:15 p.m.

Mayor Richard Daley's administration today laid off more than 400 city workers after two unions did not agree to cost-cutting measures before a 5 p.m. deadline.

"Unfortunately, it's clear there won't be an agreement," said mayoral spokeswoman Jacquelyn Heard. "Today is their last day on the city payroll."

Jack Hurley, recording secretary at Teamsters Local 726, which will lose 141 drivers, said it was "unfortunate that it had to come to this."

"We understand there's economic problems with the city and they had to do what they had to do, but our members spoke loud and clear," Hurley said."The members spoke and we went along with their wishes and that's how it has to be."

The layoffs came after Daley earlier today extended what had been yesterday's midnight deadline to get the final two unions on board with unpaid days off and other money-saving give backs.

At a morning news conference, Daley repeated yesterday's threat to cut 141 Teamsters members and 290 workers represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME. Daley also said his administration talked with AFSCME officials this morning.

"And we remain open to an agreement that is consistent with the agreement we announced yesterday," Daley said.

Andrea Gibson, a deputy budget director, told reporters that because AFSCME had reached out to the city, it would be "irresponsible" for the city not to extend the deadline until the end of the day.

"We did say midnight yesterday, but they reached out to us this morning and it would be irresponsible for us to disregard that, in light of the jobs and the families that would be affected," said Gibson, who appeared at City Hall with the mayor.

Just before the mayor's news conference, AFSCME Council 31 sent out a news release that said in part: "The mayor's decision will cause great hardship for these workers and their families, and will further reduce city services for residents who rely on them, especially in the police department, the libraries and the health clinics."

Daley said that delivering city services with more than 400 less employees would require "better management."

"You know, you have to do more with less," said the mayor, who brought up several companies in the private sector who announced layoffs.

Jack Hurley, recording secretary of Teamsters Local 726, said he understood the deadline as being the end of today, despite the mayor's declaration on Tuesday. But he said the union is not negotiating with the city.

"There's really no new negotiations, unless the city comes back to us," Hurley said. "And (the city) can't really come back to us with anything different."

Workers who would be laid off have already received notice because of labor laws and contracts. Hurley said one of the major sticking points in negotiations is drivers taking compensatory time instead of cash for overtime.

"There's drivers that would lose $30,000," Hurley said. "We're not being greedy, it's just a fact of life."

On Tuesday, Daley held a news conference with more than 20 union leaders where he announced the late Tuesday deadline for the two holdout unions and praised the 25 labor groups that agreed to give backs, which include a combination of unpaid holidays, furlough days, comp time instead of overtime and a 38-hour work week for some employees.

Daley originally threatened to cut 1,504 workers. The administration has said the city faces a more than $300 million budget shortfall and hopes to save $24 million through layoffs and concessions.

The 141 Teamsters workers drive trucks in eight city departments, primarily Streets and Sanitation, Water Management and Aviation. Of the 290 ASFCME workers on the chopping block, 120 work in city libraries stocking books, and the rest work in lower-level administrative jobs across 28 departments, according to City Hall.

In response to questions about service cuts, Gibson today said those being laid off were a small number compared to the total number of employees employed by the city from each union.

"We're going to cover the work they do," she said. "We have specific plans in place with each department to make sure we don't have much of a service impact at all."

This article only states the financial facts, not the human facts of why overtime continues to be reported “at an all time high” at the 911 center. Has there been mismanagement over the years that has contributed to the current state of the overtime calculator, I’m sure there has been, however, what seems to be left out time and time again from these types of articles is what goes on during a typical day at the 911 center that determines if overtime is needed or not. Let’s take a moment and look at the “human facts” and hopefully gain a better understanding and appreciation of a day-in-the life so to speak of a dispatcher and call taker. First of all, this is the busiest time of year for any 911 center across the nation. The weather is warm, kids are out of school and more than any other time of the year most likely to get into trouble and unemployment is at an all time high resulting in people doing whatever it takes to survive day to day. Due to the City of Chicago’s 2,853,114 documented residents (third largest city in the nation) the 911 center which serves Chicago is by far one of the busiest in the nation. Pick up the newspaper, listen to the radio or go online for just one day and really focus on all the crime that is being reported. Now, consider all the crime that is NOT being reported and once you have done this consider that 99% of these crimes were reported in some form to the 911 center before an officer, fireman or paramedic could help the victims or catch the offenders. Now, let’s consider all the other “emergency” calls that are routed through the 911 center that are not crime related but are true emergencies none the less. What about all the non-emergency calls that come through the 911 center that must be re-routed to the 311 center once it is determined there is no actual emergency occurring? What about the child who has just discovered how to dial the phone or finds a cell phone and calls 911? What about the people who call who simply want to have someone to talk to, to listen to them? What about the folks who suffer from mental illness who call again and again because their paranoia has gotten the best of them? What about the folks who think it’s funny to go to the nearest pay phone and call in a false report or simply hang up? You see, the point is no matter what the reason is for the phone ringing at the 911 center all calls MUST be answered and MUST be answered in a timely fashion. Calls are received and answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. They never stop for holidays, illness, bereavement or physical exhaustion. They keep coming and someone has to be there to answer them, to send help to the people who are calling. This article states the phones are answered in two rings. What if the operations floor staff was cut even more than the 38 positions that have not been re-hired? What if the phones were allowed to ring until someone was able to “get to them”? What if that took 6 rings, maybe 8 or 10 rings? Would you want to be the one listening to the constant ringing if you are ever faced with dialing 911 while you watched your loved one take their last breath, a victim of crime die in the streets, a small child struggle for life or find yourself facing life or death while hoping your call was next in line to be answered? These questions are real and these things do occur everyday and if the staff is cut even more then these “possible” events become “probable” events. You see, 911 call takers and dispatchers don’t just sit around chatting it up, painting their nails or reading the newspapers all day long while they are at work, they truly are answering/dispatching calls for their entire tour of duty. You only point out a few who have the most reported overtime so far this year, but have you stopped to think about how they got to be the person who received the most? Believe it or not, it is hard to find people who will volunteer to stay over a minimum of 4 hours if call volume warrants it. Most people feel like they have been beaten with a baseball bat all day long when their shift is over and do not or simply cannot endure another 4 hours. You have to understand not all calls are smooth and go well. The majority of the calls received through 911 are true life and death emergencies. During any given day you will get the crime victim who has been shot, stabbed, robbed or find themselves in a domestic violence situation. You will get the person who just couldn’t face life any longer and you will hear them take their own life on the other end of the phone knowing there is nothing you can do. You will get the child who calls to say “mommy or daddy won’t wake up”. You will get the person who calls while being threatened by another individual, who is faced with an intruder in their home, who is faced with their life being threatened by the spouse or significant other for whatever the reason and many times you will hear the lives of these people end in your ear as they are shot, stabbed, murdered knowing there is nothing you can do about it. Now I ask you, if you had to endure these types of calls for 8 to 10 hours a day would you want to sign up for 4 more hours? It takes a very special and unique individual to answer calls at the 911 center and not everyone can do it. Let’s not forget the dispatcher who give the calls to the police, fireman and ems responders and monitors them to ensure their safety until the call is closed. They suffer fatigue and exhaustion just as the call takers do and not only do they listen to the suffering of the public many have listened to police, fire and ems responders lives end while they are trying to help whomever has called 911 for whatever the reason as well. So if paying overtime to make sure someone is there to answer the ringing phone, dispatch help to someone in need or monitor the safety of the officer, the fireman, the paramedic, to help someone faced with a life threatening situation or calm the frightened child until help can arrive, then I say every penny they earn is worth it.

ANALYSIS & OPINION BY RUSS STEWART
In analyzing the upcoming 2010 election, one must consider pretexts, subtexts and contexts. Remember, pretext is the excuse, subtext is the reality, and context is the political environment.
The Illinois primary is Feb. 2, 2010, the first day to circulate petitions is August 4, and the petition filing period begins Oct. 26. Thus far, 2009 has been the Year of the Exit, or, in the Chinese tradition of utilizing animals, the Year of the Rabbit.
The two statewide 2010 game-changers, both of whom have rabbited to safe burrows, are Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who refused to run for governor or senator, and appointed U.S. Senator Roland Burris (D-IL), who would have been humiliated had he sought retention. Burris wisely announced that he would not run.
Two questions demand answering. Why this sudden skittishness? And who’s next? At the risk of putting my foot in my mouth, the next plug-puller will be the hapless, hopeless, clueless Governor, Pat Quinn, who will decide that bailing is preferable to ignominiously losing the primary to Comptroller Dan Hynes.
The pretext for Madigan’s decision was that she “enjoyed her job.” The subtext was that Illinois’ fiscal situation is FUBAR, to use the World War II acronym which means “F---- Up Beyond All Repair.” To assume the governorship in the near future is like becoming the Titanic’s captain after it hit the iceberg. Madigan decided to let somebody else fix the problem, or bear the blame.
The context is that there are gubernatorial races in 2014, 2018, and 2022, and U.S. Senate contests in 2014, 2016, 2020 and 2022. So Madigan, age 42, can wait for a winnable race, and not risk a premature, career-ending loss. Also, by 2014, the recession/depression will have surely abated.
Further, there are inklings that “Messiah Obama’s” policies have not yet succeeded, and that 2010 will be characterized by continued economic deterioration. That portends a disastrous Democratic year.
As for Burris’s pretext, he grandly proclaimed the “people’s business” to be more important than raising campaign cash. How lucky we Illinoisans are, as Burris can devote the next 16 months to his senatorial duties. The subtext is that Burris has raised a paltry $20,000, so even if he spent 24/7 on the phone dialing for dollars, it would be for naught. The context is that donors don’t waste their contributions on losers, and Burris is a loser.
With Madigan and Burris exiting, a rush of B-team contenders has hurtled into the void. Here’s an early look at the governor’s race:
Quinn’s disgraced predecessor, Rod Blagojevich, was derisively known as “Governor Windsock,” due to his propensity to let polls guide his governance. Quinn is “Governor Weathervane,” a veritable thermometer, who makes decisions based on the weather, or what side of the bed he happens to exit, or upon whatever thought permeates his brain.
Quinn had the misbegotten notion that he could succeed by being “reasonable.” Blagojevich was totally detached from Springfield squabbles, governed by press release and media event, and cared only about raising money and keeping his job. Quinn thought that by acting like “Chicken Little,” insisting that a financial doomsday was imminent, the legislature would agreeably raise taxes.
In six months, with stupendous flip-flops on policy and positions, Quinn has made himself a laughingstock in the legislature. Here’s a synopsis:
(1) Quinn promised to sign the $29 billion capital construction bill, then reneged, linking it to passage of his budget, then capitulated, signing the bill, with legalized video gambling.
(2) Quinn asserted that he was “adamantly against” any month-to-month budget, insisted that any income tax hike be permanent, and warned of “dire budget” cuts. He prophesized that 6,000 prisoners would be released prematurely, 14,300 teachers laid off, 400,000 students forfeit college aid, 650,000 Illinoisans lose health care coverage, 60 parks and museums closed, and 100,000 people cut from their “human services” benefits. And then Quinn flipped and accepted a five-month “bare bones” budget, with a “period of review” in November, and no tax hikes.
(3) Quinn insisted on capping pension benefits for newly-hired public employees. After the teachers’ union squawked, the governor quickly shelved that idea.
Quinn’s cowardly, inconsistent conduct has created chaos. Is there, or is there not a crisis? Either shut down state government, or shut up. Quinn wants a tax increase, said Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan (D), who won’t give him one unless the Republicans sign on. A tax increase is inevitable, said an aide to Illinois Senate President John Cullerton (D). But, with every passing day, state government muddles on, and will until at least November, when the legislature revisits the budget. The is now no sense of urgency, thanks to Quinn’s bungling; and there won’t be any urgency in November.
Quinn is perceived by the public as weak and ineffectual. He has raised only $250,000. He has no political network in place. He has no credibility. In short, Quinn is unelectable.
Madigan would have beaten Quinn in a primary, but she would have had to take a stance on an income tax hike. That was a lose-lose situation. If opposed, she would be labeled irresponsible and/or “under the thumb” of her father, Mike Madigan. A lot of liberal Democrats support a tax increase. If she supported it, she would absorb all of Quinn’s toxicity, and the Republicans would make the election a referendum on the issue.
Plus, hovering in the wings is black State Senator James Meeks (D-15), a strong pro-tax advocate. If the Democrats nominate an anti-tax candidate, expect him to run for governor as an independent.
With Madigan out, Hynes, age 41, the state comptroller since 1998, will surely run. This is his opportunity to leapfrog Madigan.
Hynes has been a veritable Cassandra, warning as early as 2006 that natural spending growth will cost the state an added $1 billion annually, and forecasting in 2008 that sales and corporate income tax collections will continue to decline. He was also a champion of eliminating “pay-to-play” by banning contributions from state contractors. The question is: Will he oppose a tax hike?
Hynes’ father, former Cook County assessor Tom Hynes, is the state’s Democratic state central committeeman, and has an extensive personal and financial network in place with but one goal: To elect his son to higher office. Young Hynes ran for U.S. Senator in 2004, losing the primary to Barack Obama, but getting a credible 23.7 percent; he thereafter endorsed Obama, and was an early backer of Obama for president.
At present, Hynes has $2.8 million in his campaign account, and his father has $4,369.
Polls show that a majority of the voters want to implement spending cuts before raising taxes. Given the projected $9.2 billion revenue shortfall, and given that almost 90 percent of the state’s $56 billion budget is already earmarked for personnel and social services, some tax hike, stopgap borrowing, or federal bailout will be necessary by early 2010. Young Hynes can run for governor as a “reformer,” but he’ll have to be either pro- or anti-tax. That will require a two-track strategy: He must first demand budget cuts and personnel layoffs be immediately implemented. And then he must telegraph to Meeks, through his ties to Obama, that he will be receptive to a tax hike if necessary.
To win, Hynes must bluff Quinn out of the race, and insure that Meeks does not run.
And then, in a one-on-one against a Republican, Hynes must choose his proverbial poison: Either he runs as a tax advocate, after a government shutdown, blasting the Republican as “irresponsible,” hoping voters view him as courageous; or he positions himself as an anti-tax “reformer” who can solve the problem without a raise, expecting that liberals and minorities will vote for him anyway. The former is the more dangerous.
My prediction: The name of the game is to win. “Deny now, win, and tax later” is better than “tax now, lose later.” With deft prevarication, Hynes can emerge victorious.
It’s not quite a Battle of the Pygmies, but then Republican gubernatorial field need not be awe-inspiring. The 2010 election will be a referendum on the Democrats -- on their proven incompetence and pervasive corruption.
Blagojevich, a lightweight, won in 2002 because voters rejected “George Ryan corruption.” The Republican nominee, then state-Attorney General Jim Ryan, was a viable candidate and statewide winner – much like Hynes. But the electorate was fatigued with the Republicans, wanted “change,” and they certainly got it – namely: a more corrupt governor.
The issue in 2010: Will Illinoisans continue to tolerate an inept governor? Quinn could have been a “profile in courage,” shutting down the state to force a tax hike; instead, he’s a “profile in procrastination,” and just another opportunistic politician. If Quinn has any brains, he, like Burris, will bail.